Sunday, November 25, 2012

Direct Currents: The Demon

One of Jack Kirby's new series created for DC Comics in 1972, The Demon was a creature called Etrigan, created by the powerful sorcerer Merlin at the fall of King Arthur's Kingdom of Camelot. As the evil Morgan LeFey overran the castle, Merlin unleashed a demon from hell to defend the realm, though the creature was doomed to defeat by LeFay's overwhelming forces. Placing a spell on Etrigan causing him to transform into a human, Etrigan lived on through the succeeding centuries to present day Gotham City. Now under the name of Jason Blood, our hero was unaware of his alter ego until he fell under a spell that transforming him once again into The Demon. At first Blood despised his demonic self wanting to destroy it, but eventually he tried to integrate the two personalities with disappointing results. As Jason Blood's human side grew colder and less humane, the demonic side grew more intelligent and ruthless. Fighting Morgan LeFay and other supernatural menaces, The Demon is different from his family in Hell choosing to defend humanity from mystical threats probably due to Blood's humanizing influence. Being superhuman strong and agile, the creature can often case spells, breathing fire as he speaks his weird rhyming verse that has a macabre effect on his listeners. So when evil forces threaten our world, Blood calls upon the horrible Demon to fight once again.